Her Monday, July 8th the summer sales begin, which will last until Saturday, August 31st.
At the same time, the stores will remain open on the second Sunday of July, July 14th.
The hours for this specific Sunday are 11am to 8pm.
According to the law Stores may optionally be open on the following Sundays:
- The first Sunday of the winter sales (if it is a holiday it is postponed to the following Sunday)
- The second Sunday of the winter sales
- Palm Sunday
- The first Sunday of the summer sales (if it is a holiday it is postponed to the following Sunday)
- The first Sunday after Black Friday
- The penultimate Sunday before Christmas
- The last Sunday before Christmas
- Last Sunday of each year (if it is a holiday the stores will not be open)
This means that on Sunday, July 14th, stores will be able to open.
What consumers should look out for
As with any sales season, consumers should exercise extra caution during summer sales. When a price reduction of more than 60% is expected on all items sold, the percentage discount provided must be displayed.
The discount percentage must be indicated in the window and in any other commercial communication.
If there are different discount rates per product category, the range of the available rate must be indicated (“from ….% to ….%”).
In any other case, it will be indicated that the discounts relate to selected items with reference to the corresponding percentage.
The way the discounted price is calculated and displayed must be truthful and not inaccurate.
In the event of an audit, shopkeepers must be able to prove that the old sale price indicated on the sign corresponds to reality.
Consumers should ask for proof. In addition to issues of fiscal honesty, in the event of a purchase of a defective product, a receipt is required to refund the money to consumers.
Thessaloniki Chamber of Commerce: Pay special attention to compliance with regulations
The Association reminds that in each announcement of price reduction the previous value is indicated applied by the merchant for a specified period of time before the price reduction is applied. In addition, a percentage must be used, e.g. “20% discount”.
Previous Price means the lowest price applied by the merchant during the 30-day period prior to the application of the price reduction.
Particular attention must be paid to compliance with the provisions relating to discounts and reduced prices, as the penalties are severe. In particular, according to Article 21 of Law 4177/2013, anyone who violates the law is subject to a fine equal to 1% of the annual turnover and in any case not less than 10,000 euros.
In the aggravating case of proving that the discounts are inaccurate or misleading, a fine equal to 2% of the annual turnover and in any case not less than 20,000 euros is imposed.